Liam Thomas Cosgrave (born 30 April 1956) is an Irish former

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

politician who served as

Leas-Chathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach, who has held the offi ...

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

from 1997 to 2002,

Cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach, who has held the o ...

from 1996 to 1997 and a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel from 1993 to 2002. He previously served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

constituency from 1981 to 1987. Coming from a political family, he is the son of

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

Liam Cosgrave and grandson of the first President of the Executive Council

W. T. Cosgrave William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as the president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, leader of the Opposition in both the Free State and Ir ...

Politics

He was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election as a

TD for

, and re-elected at the February 1982 and November 1982 general elections. He lost his seat at the 1987 general election, and was unsuccessful again at the

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

and 1992 general elections. He was elected to

in 1993 as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel, serving as

, and was re-elected in 1997 to the

21st Seanad This is a list of the members of the 21st Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. Unless otherwise indicated, these Senators were elected or appointed in 1997, after the 1997 general election and served u ...

. At the 2002 general election, he was again an unsuccessful candidate for the Dáil in Dún Laoghaire, and he did not contest the Seanad elections of that year. The

Mahon Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments commonly known as the Mahon Tribunal after the name of its last chairman, was a public inquiry in Ireland established by Dáil Éireann in 1997 to investigate allegations of c ...

, set up to investigate allegations of corruption among Irish politicians, heard in 2003 that Cosgrave had accepted illegal payments from property developers in return for voting to rezone property in Dublin. He resigned from the Fine Gael party when this became known, thereby effectively ending his political career. He did not seek re-election to

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that ...

at the 2004 local elections. On 17 October 2005, Cosgrave pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to disclose to the

Standards in Public Office Commission The Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) ( ga, Coimisiún um Chaighdeáin in Oifigí Poiblí) is an independent body established in December 2001 by the Irish Government under the Standards in Public Office Act, 2001. It replaced the Public ...

a political donation of £2,500 received from lobbyist Frank Dunlop in the course of the 1997 general election. He was sentenced on 26 May 2006 to perform 75 hours of

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

in lieu of a six-month custodial sentence.

Mahon Tribunal

Cosgrave appeared at the Mahon Tribunal on 14 July 2006 in relation to a planning application from Monarch Properties to re-zone at

Cherrywood Cherrywood () is a developing suburb of Dublin, Ireland, bordering Cabinteely, Loughlinstown and Rathmichael. It is located to the southeast of the city, in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The development commenced on a greenfield site in 1998 an ...

, County Dublin. He told the Tribunal that his decision to support the re-zoning was not a U-turn in return for a political donation. But he could not recall the reason for his decision. He said that he could not recollect whether he had received any donations from Monarch, or other developers at the time; but that there could have been some.

Criminal Assets Bureau investigation and subsequent legal actions

The

Criminal Assets Bureau The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) ( ga, An Biúró um Shócmhainní Coiriúla) is a law enforcement agency in Ireland. The CAB was established with powers to focus on the illegally acquired assets of criminals involved in serious crime. The aims ...

secured a High Court order preventing the sale of of land assets owned by Jackson Way Properties Ltd in

Carrickmines Carrickmines () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The area, still semi-rural, was historically on the border of English control and featured a defensive construction, Carrickmines Castle, which became the subjec ...

. An investigation of corruption was being instituted on the basis of bribes allegedly paid to councillors by Frank Dunlop to secure re-zoning on 16 December 1997. The re-zoning was investigated by the Mahon Tribunal in 2003. On 26 October 2010, Cosgrave appeared at Dublin District Court charged with five offences. He is alleged to have received corrupt payments between 1992 and 1997 in relation to the re-zoning of Jackson Way Properties Ltd. In April 2012, he failed in his attempt to stop his trial on corruption charges. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision by a majority of three to two. He went on trial in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 4 July 2013, on five counts of corruptly receiving money on dates between June 1992 and December 1997. The trial subsequently collapsed, and a '' nolle prosequi'' verdict was entered on the record.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosgrave, Liam T. 1956 births Living people Cathaoirligh of Seanad Éireann Children of Taoisigh Liam Thomas Councillors of Dublin County Council Fine Gael TDs Local councillors in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 20th Seanad Members of the 21st Seanad Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil People educated at Castleknock College Fine Gael senators